King walk

Short vs. Timman, final position

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Position after 34.Kg5. Short had marched his castled king up the board, and now 35.Kh6 (if 34...Kh7, then 35.Qxg6+ Kh8 36.Qh6+ Kg8 37.Kf6) followed by Qg7# cannot be stopped.^[1]

In chess, a king walk, also known as a king march, steel king, or wandering king (Dutch: wandelkoning, literally "wanderking"), is a maneuver where the king travels a large distance to a different part of the board in the middlegame or opening. During a king walk, the king may travel along its own side of the board (from kingside to queenside, or vice versa) to reach a safer position. Alternatively, it may travel up the board, often involved in a mating attack against the opposing king.^[2]

Activating the king before the

• Short vs. Timman, Tilburg 1991. Alekhine Defense: Modern, Alburt Variation (B04), 1–0.^[11] Short ties up Timman's pieces and his king can advance.
• Alekhine vs. Yates, London 1922. Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Main Line (D64), 1–0.^[12] Alekhine conjures up an attack in the endgame, and his king joins the fray.

See also

• Chess tactics

References